Abstract:
Three University of Arkansas at Little Rock students will showcase their plan to use nanotechnology to detect counterfeit products in the Rice University Business Plan Competition.

The trio makes up one of 36 teams worldwide selected to participate in the event, the largest intercollegiate graduate-level competition of its kind. It is scheduled for April 3-5.

Drew Jensen and Mitesh Patel, both MBA candidates, put together the business plan for TruSource Technologies. The start-up company was created to market scientific developments by Enkeleda Dervishi, who is seeking her doctorate in nanotechnology and applied science, and her advisor, Dr. Alex Biris, chief scientist of the UALR Nanotechnology Center.

TruSource Technologies uses structural materials, which are thousands of times smaller than the human hair, to form sensors that detect commercial counterfeit products ranging from airplane parts to pharmaceuticals.